Police in East Flatbush say they can combat youth-on-youth crime — and bring a stop to future killings — by monitoring and mentoring youthful perpetrators in hopes of getting them back on the straight and narrow.
“Our robber at 16 is our murderer at 25,” said Deputy Inspector Corey Pegues, the commander of the 67th Precinct. “We want to let him know there’s a better life for him than snatching cellphones or purses.”
With that goal, a team of four police officers and a sergeant will target between 50 and 100 juvenile offenders who live in the precinct and have committed two or more robberies, burglaries or grand larcenies in the past two years.
The cops will keep tabs on the daily whereabouts of the young offenders.
“They will be checking to make sure they are in school, and if they have a court date, they will check in at court,” said Pegues.
But it’s not just about surveillance. The cops also plan to offer the teens a myriad of opportunities — from jobs with local businesses to membership in such organizations as the precinct’s Explorers and Cadets — and also hook them up with local groups and clergy members who can offer advice.
“We are not looking to lock them up. We are looking to give them alternatives,” Peques said. “We are trying to change these children’s lives.”
For area residents, the program, if successful, could mean safer streets.
“If these 50 kids are responsible for 100 crimes over the last two years, if we shave off 50 crimes, the community is that much safer,” said Pegues.
A similar program that just dealt with young robbery perpetrators was successful when he implemented it about four years back when he was the commanding officer of the NYPD unit that patrols housing projects in northeastern Brooklyn, Pegues said. In that case, cops had focused on 103 youthful offenders who were responsible for more than 365 crimes. At the end of a year, Pegues said, the number of crimes committed by the group was down to about 60.